Kilgour Art Prize

I'm absolutely thrilled to be elected for the second consecutive year as a finalist in the Kilgour Art Prize. This $50,000 annual prize for figurative and portrait painting awards is assessed by two independent judges and Sarah Johnson, Curator Newcastle Art Gallery. 

The exhibition is on show at the Newcastle Art Gallery from 8 November through to 25 January 2016. 

Occasionally iconography exists that is so prevalent, so much a part of the zeitgeist, it is difficult to maintain perspective on how ridiculous it really is. 

Think of Santa, so obese he’s not in any shape to climb down chimneys, let alone make it around the world in a single night. At least not without having a stroke, anyway. And what of the Playboy Bunny? Inspired by the staff uniform at Bunny’s Tavern, itself named after the proprietor Bernard “Bunny” Fitzsimmons, the ultimate showgirl was unveiled in 1960 and somehow the ears, tail, collar and cuffs transcended their own preposterousness to become a global icon. 

Imagine if Fitzsimmons had been nicknamed, say, Chook?

Finalist in the Kilgour Art Prize

The annual Kilgour Art Prize for figurative and portrait painting awards $50,000 for the most outstanding work of art, as judged by a selection panel.

The judges are John Cheeseman, Manager Cultural Services/ Gallery Director Mosman Art Gallery; Andrew Frost, Art writer and critic and Sarah Johnson, Curator Newcastle Art Gallery. 

The exhibition is on at Newcastle Art Gallery, 1 Laman Street, Newcastle NSW 2300 from
08 November - 25 January 2015.